this is "world news," tonight, sky fall, the fireball out of in where. the meteor crashes to earth. temporarily blinding drivers. the office workers watching as the doors blow in. why was there no warning? breakdown, the on limp irk champion suspected of murder tonight, weeping in court. what we have learned about his girlfriend. was she on the verge of becoming breakout star? outrage, the new images from inside the doomed cruise ship. passengers erupting over the offer afterwards. >> they want to insult us by giving us $500. and coming to america, the children from a world away on the way to carnegie hall. what he showed them about

america. and what they showed us. good luck. bringing an entire crowd to its feet. good evening. it's great to have you with us on a friday night. diane has the evening off. let's get right to it. eyes of the world today stunned by this image. debris from a meteor racing toward earth, streaking across the sky. crashing into the ground in the woods. the cloudy trail the meteor produced. and on impact carving a little pool into a frozen lake. the biggest meteor in more than a century to hit the planet. 1,000 people were injured from shards of flying glass and debris. there was no warning. more on that from nasa in a moment. we begin with kirit radia in moscow.

>> reporter: it came out of nowhere. a bright speck in the sky, soon streaking across the horizon, followed by an almost apocalyptic scene. a blinding flash of light, and then all hell broke loose. [ explosion ] dizzying explosions, shattering windows, knocking these office workers to the ground. these students were lucky, protected by curtains from the flying glass. and these men barely escaped the blast. [ explosion ] in the streets -- pandemonium. terrified residents thought the world was ending. "people started to panic. somebody screamed, 'the end of the earth, he says. the chaos of the meteor captured on cell phones and the dashboard cameras of cars, so popular here in russia. the blast was so powerful, it knocked down a wall at this factory. in all, over 1200 people were injured, mostly from broken glass.

3,000 buildings damaged, over a million square feet of glass shattered. many were injured after going to the window to check out the flash in the sky. the glass shatters and bounced back on me. my beard was cut over, this man says. the meteor was believed to be about 50 feet wide, weighing a whopping 7700 ton, about the same as the eiffel tower. it raced toward the earth at ov over 40,000 miles an hour. as it crashed into the atmosphere, it began to break into pieces, causing those booms and sending those powerful shockwaves towards the ground, rocking a zone hundreds of miles wide. the shockwaves causing all the damage. as for pieces of the meteor, one of the bigger chunks landed here, leaving a hole in this frozen lake. tonight, 20,000 soldiers have been sent to help the residents struggling without window. russian television coverage has

been going wall to wall with what some said looked like a scene out of an action movie. david? >> this comes as last night here, we told you about the asteroid barreling to earth. that was something different. today, the asteroid was streaming toward earth. as predicted, it missed us this afternoon by about 17,000 miles. tonight, we wanted to bring in amy meinzer an astrophysicist. we saw the images, and wondered, could this happen here? >> it's possible this could happen again. this was the largest fireball we have seen in a long time, since about 1908. there could be others that happen that we just don't see, over the ocean, over some place not pop lated. >> all of the dots with space debris. 21,000 pieces orbiting the earth. that's a lot of stuff not too

far away. >> that's right. there is a lot of space junk out there. we're working hard to track it. in most cases, the bits of space debris will fall down. they'll be burned up in the earth's atmosphere. most of the time, they're completely harmless. >> most of the time harmless. we knew the asteroid was barreling toward earth. you predicted it would miss us. correct me if i'm wrong, there was no warning for the meteor in russia. what are we to think of that? >> the object in russia a day ago, that was about a third of the size of the asteroid that passed us by. it's pretty small as these things go. about 15 meters across. about the size of two parked vans end to end. because it was so small, it would have been very faint and hard to see from the ground. >> we know you all have your eyes trained 24 hours a day. thank the team for us. >> absolutely. thank you for having me. overseas for this story. and a stunning moment from south

after kra tonight. an emotional breakdown in court from oscar pistorius, the runner charged with murder. we have the impages from the courtroom. >> reporter: the once proud olympian broke down at this first court appearance, weeping as a judge announced he would be charged with premeditated murder. local media quote police saying his covermodel girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, was shot four times through a bathroom door with a 9mm pistol recovered from os case micar pis house on valentine's day. prosecutors dismissed reports he mistook her for an intruder. and today said they believe he intended to kill her. in his defense the pistorius family issued a statement saying, "the alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms." >> oscar pistorius is really flying her! >> reporter: pistorius' fans saw a man driven to win.

but others who came to know him say it sometimes went too far. >> i worried about oscar hurting himself in various ways because he can be very reckless in his driving of his car, driving of his speedboats. he's an adrenaline freak. >> reporter: one of his passions was guns. here tweeting this picture of himself at a shooting range where he was a regular. and in another tweet, expressing his persistent fear of burglars coming into his house. nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking it's an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry. friends say they believe the shooting was simply a horrific accident. ex-girlfriend jenna edkins tweets -- i have dated oscar on and off for five years, not once has he ever lifted a finger to me, made me fear for my life. but police say they've responded to domestic disputes at the home before though not saying if those involved steenkamp. >> hi, my name is reeva. >> reporter: a 29-year-old law

school graduate whose modeling career was just taking off. >> reporter: steenkamp recently competed in a south african reality show. producers say it will launch as scheduled tomorrow night with special tribute to the life of the young woman. pistorius will remain in this pretoria jail though the weekend at least until his bail hearing next tuesday. his home remains a crime scene. david? >> bazi kanani, thank you. back here at home, 4200 passengers and crew are finally back on land tonight after spending five days on the carnival cruise ship with no power after the fire. the nightmare may not be over. passengers just now reacting to carnival's offer. here again tonight, abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: they sprinted ashore. 3,000 passengers -- so relieved to be on dry ground, they kissed it. >> that's my first cruise. that's my last cruise. never again. >> reporter: five days after an engine fire left the carnival "triumph" dead in the water. >> everything is under control.

nothing to worry about, folks. nothing to panic about. >> reporter: and tonight, this new video shows the extreme conditions on the triumph. people camping on deck, lining corridors with mattresses and sheets, turning couches into beds -- anything to escape a in darkened cabins, passengers used flashlights to show us water seeping under doorways. >> look at this. that's still running out. the stench is horrific. >> reporter: days spent trying to phone home. >> we have tug boats coming out tomorrow at noon to pick up our boat. we're in the middle of the gulf of mexico. >> we're out in the middle of the ocean, dude. the boat caught on fire this morning at about 4:00. >> reporter: for its part, carnival provided vouchers. >> it's degrading. demoralizing. they want to insult us by giving us $500. >> they kuld have gotten the elderly, pregnant, children, off the ship. >> reporter: passengers may be out of luck with lawsuits. when you buy the ticket, you

often sign away the ability to sue for damages. >> there's no question that carnival and every cruise line like it has thought long and hard about the prospect of lawsuits. they've ensured that they have walled themselves off as much as they can. >> reporter: notice the cranes working on the account triumph." it will be out of commission for two more months at least. it could take more than that for carnival to repair its reputation. >> one more note. the coast guard pays for the coast of rescues the cruise ships. that's your money, tax money. on capitol hill today, outrage over that. jay rockefeller writing in a letter to the coast guard that, quote, it's time that the cruise line industry, that earn mrs. than $26 billion a year, pay for the costs imposed on the government. don't miss a special "20/20" tonight. what every family should ask

before taking the next cruise. we continue this evening. if you were on facebook today, perhaps you noticed something. facebook coming clean that the site was hacked a month ago. some facebook employees visited a website that was infected. facebook quickly fixed the problem. no information was compromised. we turn to the national conversation on gun viabolence. the president and staff honoring the teachers and staff and children that lost their lives at newtown. here tonight, jonathan karl. >> reporter: today, the white house planned to focus on the economy. >> too many of our children are being taken away from us. >> reporter: he invoked the

memory of hadiyah pendleton, who was gunned down. >> no law or set of laws can prevent every act of violence in this country. when a child opens fire on another child, there's a hole in that child's heart that the laws can't fill. >> reporter: earlier, the president in tears. >> they gave all they had for the most innocent and helpless among us. the courageous heart, the selfless spirit, the inspiring actions of extraordinary americans. extraordinary citizens. >> reporter: bill sherlach blew a kiss to heaven as he accepted the award for his wife, sandy hook's school psychologist mary sherlach.

she was killed as she ran toward the shooter. the president hugged the mother and daughter of teachers' aide rachel davino, also killed that day. the president offered a rare reflection when he said i wish i had a father that was around and involved. >> a very personal reflection there. you'll talk about the debate over gun violence on sunday as he fills in for george on "this week." and reppive paul ryan will be there, too. much more ahead on witness witness tonig -- "world news." the wife who gambled her husband's billion-dollar fortune. we do the math and hear her excuse right after the break here. in america today we're running out of a vital resource we need to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs

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>> reporter: during nine years of hard gambling in vegas, atlantic city, and san diego, msz o'connor wagered well over $1 billion. that's more than $300,000 every single day, more than $12,500 every single hour, waking and sleeping. her total losses -- $13 million. >> i did borrow the money from my husband's foundation. >> reporter: that's why she landed in court. over $2 million taken from a charity set up by the late husband. she'd already remortgaged her home, sold a hotel, auctioned her possessions. apparently spent her last dime. peterson died in '94 with o'connor by his side. she claims grief drove her to gambling. >> i lost my husband, i lost three of my siblings. i lost my two best friends. >> it can be triggered by grief, loss, stress, medications. gambling simply too much. >> reporter: o'connor has a brain tumor during the gambling years. >> in the centers of the brain

that affect and control logic, reasoning, and most importantly, judgment. >> reporter: ms. o'connor is now 66 years old, in poor health. the court just gave her probation and two years to pay back that $2 million. nick watt, abc news, los angeles. >> our thanks to nick tonight. when we come back here, take a look at this. >> whoo! >> you can hear the cheers. the whale, the baby, and the synchronized swimming seconds after birth. you've got to see this. and you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

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we're going turn to our "instant index" here on a friday night. tiffany rings that don't come in the trademark blue box. which one is a real deal and which one is a knockoff? the one to the right is the real deal, starting at $11,000, a karat. the one on the left, at costco, just about $6400. tiffany's is suing. forget about the snowplow. 42-year-old lori went into labor, her neighbors springing into action. putting her in a sled, taking her to the hospital. they made it just in time for the birth of the snowman, named james after his father. another amazing birth. watch this, a mother killer

whale, at sea world, about to give birth. the tail is already out there. suddenly, in a flash, the baby is out and synchronized swimming with its mother. the healthy calf weighs a healthy 350 pounds. when we come back, what we witnessed at new york's famed carnegie hall. good luck. we were there behind the scenes to catch the moment that had every on their feet. this is one performance you will not forget. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

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here in america, a country so filled with music, it's hard to believe there are children in parts of the world who are not allowed to perform. tonight, our "persons of the week" the children who came to new york city, determined to get their music back. they arrived here in america pushing their most prized possessions, they're instruments. coming from home, where for so many years, there has been no music. gulalei unsure of what to make of this place called america. they're children from afghanistan. "world news" was invited to their school in kabul, where they have been trying to win back the school from the taliban and they're music.

now they've come to america to perform. do you like america? >> yes. it's very beautiful. >> reporter: she place the sitar, in a country where women almost never perform. for so long, there was no music. >> music was ban -- >> reporter: banned? >> banned. and they didn't want music. >> reporter: and the music wasn't the only thing stolen. do you have a mom and dad? [ speaking foreign language ] she says she is an orphan. lost bhoeoth her mom and dad toe taliban. do you remember them? she wishes they could hear her music as we did. ♪ and right there waiting to perform for us, too, eraj. listen to what he said. >> she's better than me. >> reporter: she's better than you? >> yeah. >> reporter: but he would play,

too. ♪ >> reporter: he turned to her and said, she was playing better than him. >> that clearly shows the future of afghanistan. sometimes the girls can be much better than we, the men. >> reporter: we already know that in america. >> yes. >> reporter: the children then took me across the street here in new york city, on their way to the famous carnegie hall, where they were set to perform. they had been here three days, to a famous new york diner. they were tapping firngs on to lady gaga. we showed them something they hadn't seen. this is starbucks. it's very american. do you want a hot chocolate? outside. a bit of a struggle. now drink it. ready? but then we were on to that famous hall. for one last rehearsal. off they went. good luck. out on the renowned stage, after telling me this. are you nervous? >> no, i'm not. >> reporter: you're not nervous? it's carnegie hall.

just a few hours later, they were dressed. the sold-out crowd was waiting. the moment had arrived for the kids from kabul. gulalei, eraj, dream playing out half way across the world. ♪ [ applause ] >> reporter: and so when choose the afghanistan national institute of music and my two friends. to determined to perform here. they did. i'll see you later for the special "20/20." good night. have saved money with... ohhh... ...with geico... ohhh...sorry! director's voice: here we go. from the top. and action

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